Detectives?
by steelneena
Summary: OOMPH fanfiction. A tragedy occurs in NYC, involving the band. Dero does something drastic. What can Alicia have to do with all of this? And since when are OOMPH into detective novels? contains mild German language usage


Detectives?

It was evening, nearing eight thirty, and the city was lit up in such a way that she would never forget. Not this night. Alicia was dressed in comfortable dark wash jeans that were longer at the ankle, hoping that it would disguise her tennis shoes. Tonight was her official first night in New York City, and it was quite the change from the suburbs of the Midwest that she had grown so accustomed to.

It was dinner out with her friends Erin and Jason, as well as a couple others. The restaurant wasn't fancy, but all the same, Alicia wanted to look nice. Shrugging on a light sweater, and hurriedly grabbing her purse, Alicia walked quickly out the door.

When she arrived at the restaurant, Erin was already waiting for her. "Sorry, I'm a little late," she excused herself as she sat down, brushing the strands of her long blonde hair away from her glasses. "I kind of lost track of the time, and, well, I am new here," Jason assured her that no one minded, and they continued on their previous conversation, as if Alicia had never been late.

As the conversation drifted, Alicia found herself growing less engaged. There was simply too much to see. By way of people. Every way she turned her head, she saw someone new, with a different history, a different life, and that intrigued Alicia to no end. Just as she was watching to see where a curious looking man would sit, she noticed, as he moved to sit down, two people at the table behind him.

She could not believe her eyes.

Shaking herself, in an effort to clear her head, Alicia excused herself from the table. She walked slowly, and carefully towards the bar, nearing the table ever so slowly, watching surreptitiously from the corner of her eyes.

She sat down at the bar, and ordered a Tom Collins, waiting for just a slight turn of his head. And she was dead certain. Dero Goi and Robert Flux. It had been the combination of black spiked hair and bald head that had really caught her attention, but now there was no doubt in her mind.

She took a sip of her drink, trying to calm herself. Should she approach them? No, she thought, probably not. If they were in New York, Alicia supposed, they probably felt safe from screaming fans and paparazzi. Thinking to herself silently, she beckoned the barman over to her.

"Another round of drinks for the two gentlemen at that table there, please. Tell them that it's on me," The barman nodded his acquiescence and soon, a waitress was making her way over to the two Germans.

Straining to hear, Alicia listened as the waitress explained the situation. Flux looked over at her, and smiled, genuinely for once. Dero's was not as wide, but he had seemed strained when she had first noticed him anyways. Perhaps something was not…And then it hit her. Where was Crap?

Alicia didn't notice when Flux stood up and walked toward her. She didn't register his presence at all, as she was so lost in thought, until he gently laid a hand on her shoulder, making her jump in surprise. "Hallo, you are the lady who paid for our drinks, ja?"

"Oh! Yeah, sorry, I was just. I mean, I just realized that your usual trio is one man short," She bit her lip timidly. This whole evening had been wow… But as she waited for Flux to reply, she noticed his face fall. Perhaps Crap was not the best thing to discuss. Abruptly, he changed the topic.

"Would you like to come and sit with us, Fraulein? Dero and I could use the company. As you have put it, we are one short of a trio," Flux implored. Replying in the affirmative, Alicia stood from the bar taking her Tom Collins with her. She sat down in the unoccupied chair, praying that there would be no awkward silences.

"So, you know of our band?" Dero was still silent. It was Flux who had spoken. But this was a conversation that I could get into. If it had to do with OOMPH!, I was your girl. Actually that went pretty much for any band, but OOMPH! especially.

"Yes! I replied exuberantly. "Of course! You guys are my favourite!" As the conversation went on, I watched Dero's reactions carefully, as he contributed more, but I was still hesitant to mention Crap. Flux's face had told me that he was not a welcome topic of conversation. It was getting later - almost two hours had passed since I had sat down at their table - and the dance floor had opened up.

Dero was still chowing down enthusiastically on his vegetarian noodle dish- his eyes had positively lit up when it was set in front of him - so Flux asked me to dance. And we did. It wasn't so much to dance, I noticed. Rather, it was to get away from Dero. As we danced his eyes kept going back to Dero, warily, watching.

"Is something wrong?" I bucked up the guts to ask. And in the end, I was glad I did. It made everything a whole lot easier on Flux.

"Andreasisttot!" he spluttered out. Much to my shock, I understood every word he said. My mouth hung open in shock and I was sure that I had stopped moving. No wonder his face had appeared ashen when I had asked of the third man's whereabouts. No wonder Dero was hardly the sociably crazy man who taped himself singing Heidi in restaurants when he got drunk. No wonder his smile had never reached his eyes.

"Mein Gott im Himmel…" we were swaying, I was vaguely aware, once more. "How? When? What happened?" Flux shook his head. "He went around the corner from our hotel to get some beer for us. He never made it back. We were told it was a mugging. I don't know how either of us will cope-"

Suddenly, as his eyes wandered back towards Dero and the table, his arms dropped form around me and he tore away. "Scheiβe, scheiβe, scheiβe!" I hurriedly followed behind, hoping that nothing terrible had happened. I stopped in my tracks.

Dero was gone.

Detectives ?

"I'd better go and look for him. He shouldn't be alone right now. I don't want anything to happen, they were best friends, as I'm sure that you know," Flux sighed heavily as we walked to the door after paying the bill. I noticed that my group had long gone. I wasn't surprised. I hadn't even ordered anything with them.

Flux and I stepped outside, the warm summer air contrasted perfectly with the soft breeze. "Look," he sighed again. "I'd better go, but this is our hotel address and my phone number. You know, just in case you want to check in, make sure that he's okay and everything," Flux smiled wanly. I patted his shoulder and kissed his cheek. In a sisterly kind of way.

"Take care, I might see you around," I told him and began walking back towards my apartment. I was fairly alone on the street and that was beginning to frighten me. If Andreas Crap had been caught off guard, mugged and killed, I could be too. Thinking about it, I probably made a very easy target, what with my slim frame. I was going to have to buy some pepper spray…

As I walked, getting jumpier by the minute, I rubbed the spot just beneath my glasses on the bridge of nose. I had a smattering of freckles there, and rubbing them was sort of a nervous habit. When I was younger, my sister thought sometimes that I might rub them right off.

I saw a shadow come up from just behind me, and I started to walk faster. I felt a tap on my shoulder and I turned on him trying to do what my dad had taught and take him out. It didn't work, suffice to say, but that was just fine.

"Bitte, Hold up on me," came his voice from the shadows. When he finally stood, I realized who it was. Tall, blue eyes, short brown hair.

"Andreas!" Alicia practically fell over in surprise. "But…but…" He put an arm around my shoulders and pulled me into the shadows. These were men that I only knew through their amazing music. And now things were getting very, very weird. What on earth was going on?

"Look," he turned to me, and spoke very quietly. "I'm not dead. I saw you come out of the restaurant with Flux and I figured that you knew something. What do you know? And what is your name, by the way?"

It was a little much to take in. Oaky, so it was a lot to take in all at once. I breathed deeply. "My name is Alicia, and I know your band, and I saw Dero and Flux in there. And well, I asked where you were and then Dero was gone and now we are here and I have absolutely no idea what is going on, you aren't dead!" and it all spilled out anyways. Wonderful. I started to rub that spot just below my glasses again. This was all just too much.

Crap grabbed me by the shoulders, and locked out gazes. "Look at me. I'm not dead. I promise. I have… how do you call it. I have pretended to be dead, ja? Verstanden?" he asked regressing back into his native German.

"So you faked your own death? Why?" He paused a moment before continuing.

"I have secretly been pursuing a career as a detective, and I've been writing stories about my adventures. I…um… am in a little trouble with German contacts for your American mob. I did not want any problems for Dero and Flux. So I pretended - faked - being dead. I need you to find Dero though. Badly. Flux knows that I'm not dead, and I need you to find Dero. Flux is a… Köder? Ummm."

"Bait? A Decoy?"

"Ja, so that you can go to the Hotel and get Dero. You aren't suspicious. You aren't really associated with the band. Dero needs to know that I still live. That way his head can be in the game. But I had to make it convincing first, so neither of them new anything. Bitte, kannst du?"

"Ja," I replied. "Ich werde," and with that he disappeared into the black. Only then did I notice that he had slipped a note for Dero into my hand. Good, elsewise Dero'd think that I was mad. Insane! Crazy!

I walked fast, my steps quickening by the second, hurrying to get to s streetlamp, so I could read the address for the hotel. I only looked back once. Just once. Andreas had melted back into the shadows from whence he had come. It was… creepy.

I started to head back the way that I came, when I noticed one of those shadows moving. I hardly thought that it could be Crap. I couldn't get that lucky. I ducked around the corner to avoid being seen, and then, ever so little inched my head around the edge.

Only to bump head first into the figure I had been spying on.

"Gott!"

"Shit!"

As he looked down at me, I realized I was even luckier than I had first thought. It was Dero. What on earth was he…

"Oh, it is only you, Alicia. I'm sorry, I thought that - "

"-Dero, I have a message for you, and you need to read it now. It is imperative. Seriously!" I muttered urgently as I unfolded the corner of paper that Crap had handed me earlier. Simultaneously I grabbed the arm of Dero's coat and pulled him along to the streetlight that I had used earlier.

"No, I can't I -"

"This is really important. Really!" and then it occurred to me. "What on earth were you doing in that alleyway anyhow?"

"I've been trying to tell you! I have been looking for the murderer. Für rache - vengeance,"

"But how did you know that I knew…."

"Flux was talking urgently in your ear, and you avoided all mention of… him,"

"Well you can forget about vengeance. Just read this already, would you?" I asked frantically, pushing the slip into his hand. He was so on edge, I was afraid that he'd run off before I could tell him about Crap! He sighed, but he lifted the paper to the light and read. I could tell as he read what was being revealed and in whose hand, as the expressions on his face changed.

The light left half of his dark countenance in shadow, the whites of his eyes standing out in stark contrast. I was falling in love with him all over again. His concern for his friend was so evident on his face, that it was almost heartrending.

Dero must have read it over ten times, the time it took to read it once, but when he finally looked up, there was a new conviction in his eyes. "Komm mit, I'm going back to the hotel, and you're coming with me," And with that he offered his arm, which I took.

We walked back to the hotel in total silence, and went directly up to the rooms that they had gotten during their stay. Dero never made any sign when he saw Andreas except to motion for me to sit down, while the three went into the room next door to obviously discuss the recent events. It was almost too much. First I see Dero and Flux, the Crap is dead and then Alive and a Detective Author, and then Dero is looking for vengeance and …. I was getting a migraine. It was all too unreal, I must have been dreaming.

But I wasn't.

It had pushed Alicia over the edge when they asked her join their detective agency as an undercover go between and secretary, but she did eventually agree, despite the fact that Flux was allowed to keep the ridiculous (Dero didn't agree) name for the Agency that he had thought up ("Come on! It's great! All of our initials! FCDA! (of course he put the F first, Crap had argued) Finding Criminals Detective Agency! Das Rocks, Ja?")

Crap and Alicia had vigorously shook their heads no, while Dero and Flux enthusiastically did the opposite.

Andreas published his first book (auf Deutsch, of course) not soon after, "Hunt in the Night" and couldn't help but add a particular scene:

"As the couple walked down the ill light street, the strains of the dark man's song to her could be heard, wafting on the dreary breeze- "Strangers in the Night….two lonely people…"


End file.
